ScoreKeeper here to honor the loss of one of the most imaginative musical minds the world of film music has ever known.
Bebe Barron was a music synthesis pioneer and a lightening bolt in the film music world. Her milestone score to the sci-fi classic FORBIDDEN PLANET (1956), co-created with her engineer husband Louis, represents the pinnacle of both innovation and creativity in diegetic music. Credited as the first completely electronic film score in cinematic history, FORBIDDEN PLANET allowed Bebe to further her creative exploration of electronic mediums and apply them to film using narrative scoring techniques.
Bebe Barron passed away on April 20th, 2008, in Los Angeles, California.
It’s quite possible that FORBBIDEN PLANET could have been just another formulaic addition to the sci-fi pantheon of the 1950’s. Instead it stands apart from the pack as film rich in character, color and with a genuine sense of other-worldliness difficult to find in other films.
This is due in large part to Bebe and Louis Barron’s music.
In 2005, an intensive study and analysis of Bebe’s work on FORBIDDEN PLANET was published as part of the Scarecrow Film Score Guide series. LOUIS AND BEBE BARRON’S FORBIDDEN PLANET was authored by James Wierzbicki and stands as one of the most extensive and authoritative analytical studies on this score to date.
There was never a score quite like FORBIDDEN PLANET before it and there has never been a score quite like it since. For this the cinematic community will be eternally grateful.
On behalf of Ain’t It Cool News I’d like to extend our condolences to Barron’s family and remind them we are honored to have the music she left behind.
Thank you Bebe for taking us to FORBIDDEN PLANET!

It's like s/he's Death's accountant or something... That aside, thanks for these articles. It's only right that these industry figures and (musical innovators in Barron's case) get some mention on their passing.

What other unknown random name guy who scored something in a movie is going to die next?!<p>
The memoriam tribute at the National Unknown Guys Who Doodle Notes On Staff Paper Awards Ceremony will be a tough one to watch this year.

... of captain, first officer and ship's doctor that Star Trek so heavily relies upon was prototypes by the same trioka in Forbidden Planet. Now we lose both musical geniuses who were critical to the success of these classic sci-fi entities. Horrifically sad .. may they both enjoy a well-deserved eternal rest.

'Co-composer'? Where do you draw the line with this? 'Eighth Stormtrooper From The Left In Episode IV No Longer With Us'? Ridiculous.<P>Also, can't believe no-one's got a 'decomposing composer' gag in yet...

Point taken, though your righteous indignation is a source of much amusement. Getting all sniffy about an off-the-cuff comment I made regarding someone you've never met simply because one aspect of their work touched your life on the three or four occasions you encountered it is priceless, dear boy.<p>You remind me of those interminable fools who leave flowers at crime scenes, despite having never even seen the murdered people in question. All that faux regret mock angush and none of them can even recall the last time they bought their own mothers a bunch. Laughable.<p>Anyway, since I touched a nerve in your shallow little world, please allow me to do so again. In the words of Eric Idle: "They're decomposing composers, there's nothing much anyone can do. You can still hear Beethoven, but Beethoven cannot hear you."<p>Foam on, lowbrow person...